Natalia down to three officers as chief retires

Natalia Police Chief Wayne Morgan has unexpectedly announced his retirement, two weeks after the City Council let three patrolmen go.

That leaves three city officers now on duty in the Medina County community of 1,800.

“It kind of caught me by surprise,” Mayor Ruby Vera said of news that Morgan, a seven-year veteran of the force who became chief a year ago, planned to retire Aug. 14 upon completing a vacation he started Thursday.

“The officers who are left are very capable and the Sheriff's Department will continue to provide the additional security we need,” Vera said.

Reached Friday, the chief said he gave his two-week notice to the city finance officer and was advised he had 80 hours of vacation time and should take it.

The recent force reduction wasn't mentioned in Morgan's retirement announcement, which said, in part: “There comes a time when it's best to move in a different direction and that time has come for me.”

But in an interview, Morgan, 61, said the decision was “sort of” related to the layoffs of his officers and cited friction with the mayor as another contributing cause.

Vera said the posts of chief and three officers were funded in last year's regular budget, and money anticipated from the city's vehicle impound lot and seizures was earmarked to fund two additional full-time officers and a part-timer.

That revenue was insufficient to cover the three officers' pay, so they were laid off last month, Vera said, noting: “Everybody knew that if the funding was not there, that the positions would be eliminated.”

Filling the chief's post will be discussed at a special council meeting Monday.

“We'll just have to step up patrols there a little more,” Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said. “It's sad when you have to look at how many vehicles you have to impound to fund your positions.”